h20poloman2
Active Member
I don't post much in this forum but decided to show my new custom tank set up that has been in the works for over a year now. I've been in the hobby for about 9 years and this is the first brand new aquarium I've ever purchased. I previously had tanks from 7g up to 240g with my most recent being a 120g mixed reef. I finally started having success with SPS and with the wife and I starting to talk about having a family I decided now was the time to get a bigger tank before she could say no. :lol:
I had been following a tank thread on another forum with similar dimensions except not as tall as what I decided on that used the same light fixture. I know with all the rage being LEDs I just couldn't resist a solid deal on a used Sfiligoi MH/T5/LED combo fixture since I knew I wanted to have an SPS dominant tank. I actually purchased the light fixture before I had any other equipment including the tank itself. I ended up buying the tank, a Lee-Mar 248g with starphire front panel at the end of August 2012. The dimensions are 64"L x 32"W x 28"T with dual overflows in the corners.
I was planning on having the custom stand made next but found some good deals on brand new equipment so decided to buy as I could so that delayed the stand build. My work travel also picked up substantially so this played a part into not being able to set up the tank as soon as I was planning. I was on a plane every week for the first 3 months of this year as well. My work travel will ease out a bit but I do plan on having as much automation as possible all controlled by an RKE and will have a webcam to check in on my tank while I'm away.
Finally came my stand build. This is the nicest piece of furniture in my house.
I ended up having a fellow reefer who is a general contractor by trade and has made some fantastic cabinets when he has had the time build the frame after the cabinet shop obviously didn't understand even though I told them how heavy this tank will weight once it's full as they didn't even have 2x4's for the frame. I then had them ultimately do the skinning of the stand and I've very happy with the work. It's a beast and weighs probably as much as the aquarium.
Last, I had a custom light fixture made - once again enlisting a fellow reefer in San Diego who owns a metalshop. I explained that I was looking for something pretty sleek and that wouldn't distract from the Sfiligoi but possibly have some movement to allow me to really get my hands in the tank if necessary. He build a very cool and sexy light fixture that is powder coated black and has a linear actuator that can lift my Sfiligoi up 12". Pretty cool little feature. So anyhow, I finally got water in my tank about a week ago. I'm using all dry rock as I didn't want to deal with any potential bad guys right off the bat. This is also the most sand I've ever used, 300lbs of it (Tropic Eden - mixture of reef flakes on the bottom layer and then the larger grand select on top) for a DSB. I'm going with a minimal rock look and used acrylic rods for my main two structures with a little bit of rock around them to give a little bit more texture. I'm going to have to pick my SPS wisely as I ultimately won't have that much real estate.
Here are some pics:
Frame built with 2x4's and a couple 2x6's.
at the cabinet shop getting skinned
finished stand
set up complete
we have light - this is only with the t5s on
I've also picked up a dropcam to use as a reefcam. Easiest set up ever and reasonably priced for an HD webcam. Not much to look at now but it's still a cool little gadget.
http://www.dropcam.com/p/PlankerReef
I had been following a tank thread on another forum with similar dimensions except not as tall as what I decided on that used the same light fixture. I know with all the rage being LEDs I just couldn't resist a solid deal on a used Sfiligoi MH/T5/LED combo fixture since I knew I wanted to have an SPS dominant tank. I actually purchased the light fixture before I had any other equipment including the tank itself. I ended up buying the tank, a Lee-Mar 248g with starphire front panel at the end of August 2012. The dimensions are 64"L x 32"W x 28"T with dual overflows in the corners.
I was planning on having the custom stand made next but found some good deals on brand new equipment so decided to buy as I could so that delayed the stand build. My work travel also picked up substantially so this played a part into not being able to set up the tank as soon as I was planning. I was on a plane every week for the first 3 months of this year as well. My work travel will ease out a bit but I do plan on having as much automation as possible all controlled by an RKE and will have a webcam to check in on my tank while I'm away.
Finally came my stand build. This is the nicest piece of furniture in my house.
I ended up having a fellow reefer who is a general contractor by trade and has made some fantastic cabinets when he has had the time build the frame after the cabinet shop obviously didn't understand even though I told them how heavy this tank will weight once it's full as they didn't even have 2x4's for the frame. I then had them ultimately do the skinning of the stand and I've very happy with the work. It's a beast and weighs probably as much as the aquarium. Last, I had a custom light fixture made - once again enlisting a fellow reefer in San Diego who owns a metalshop. I explained that I was looking for something pretty sleek and that wouldn't distract from the Sfiligoi but possibly have some movement to allow me to really get my hands in the tank if necessary. He build a very cool and sexy light fixture that is powder coated black and has a linear actuator that can lift my Sfiligoi up 12". Pretty cool little feature. So anyhow, I finally got water in my tank about a week ago. I'm using all dry rock as I didn't want to deal with any potential bad guys right off the bat. This is also the most sand I've ever used, 300lbs of it (Tropic Eden - mixture of reef flakes on the bottom layer and then the larger grand select on top) for a DSB. I'm going with a minimal rock look and used acrylic rods for my main two structures with a little bit of rock around them to give a little bit more texture. I'm going to have to pick my SPS wisely as I ultimately won't have that much real estate.
Here are some pics:
Frame built with 2x4's and a couple 2x6's.
at the cabinet shop getting skinned
finished stand
set up complete
we have light - this is only with the t5s on
I've also picked up a dropcam to use as a reefcam. Easiest set up ever and reasonably priced for an HD webcam. Not much to look at now but it's still a cool little gadget.
http://www.dropcam.com/p/PlankerReef
